IT was little wonder that Sead Haksabanovic described Celtic as his “dream club” when he was paraded at Parkhead yesterday.
The Montenegrin winger has some fantasy football fixtures to look forward to, not least against holders Real Madrid in the Champions League group stages, in the coming months.
Playing in attack for Ange Postecoglou’s ultra-offensive team, who scored nine goals in a mauling of Dundee United in a cinch Premiership match at Tannadice on Sunday, is also an exhilarating prospect for the skilful winger.
Yet, Haksabanovic has revealed that one of the reasons he was so keen to join the Scottish champions was to bring an end to the nightmares his family was experiencing after his move to Rubin Kazan in Russia last year turned awry.
The invasion of Ukraine back in February caused great concern among his nearest and dearest back in his native Sweden and they were relieved when he was allowed to return to his homeland to play for Djurgardens on loan.
The 23-year-old is pleased, then, that his long-term future has been settled and they will no longer have to fret about his wellbeing.
“It was difficult,” he said. “When I went to Russia I was thinking I was going to stay there for one or two years. But when the war happened it became a situation that no-one had been in before.
“My family was worried about me. Of course, in Russia it was safe as nothing was happening in Russia. But my family couldn’t sleep at night.
“That made me want to leave and put that in front of my football. So I went to Sweden where I could go on loan for three months. It was a decision I made for my family. I had to be close to them at that time.
“The whole situation was just not something anyone expected would happen. There were six or seven of us foreign players who left the club so it was a hard time for us and also the team because they went down because of it.”
Haksabanovic continued: “Rubin Kazan have always been good and they were honest enough to say they didn’t want to stop our careers. They wanted our careers to keep going so that wasn’t a problem.
“Of course I was worried because you never know what is going to happen. What if I had to go back and my family would be worried again? But I try to stay positive. My family are happy. They are most happy for me and that I have the chance to play for a great club like Celtic.”
Haksabanovic, who could make his debut in the Premier Sports Cup match against Ross County in Dingwall tomorrow night, is now looking ahead and he admitted that he is excited about what the future holds.
He watched Celtic’s record-breaking triumph over United at the weekend – it was the biggest away win in the Premiership era – and believes he will have no difficulty slotting in to Postecoglou’s starting line-up.
“It’s the way I want to play,” he said. “They looked very sharp and I know it’s going to be hard to take a place in the team, but that’s only good for me. When I saw them play, I thought: ‘I want to be there, I want to make something happen’.
“I have never been in a team that always attack and always have the ball. Hopefully it brings out the best in me. I had seen games before I came here and I thought: ‘I want to play that way’.
“I am just going to be a hard-working player. I am going to do everything I can for the team. I think I am going to be making the fans stand up sometimes with some good dribbling, some good actions and hopefully some points as well.”
Haksabanovic was courted by some major English clubs after making his debut for Halmstad aged just 15 back in 2015; he had trials with Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United and ended up signing for West Ham.
However, he failed to make a single first team appearance in London after Slaven Bilic, the manager who signed him, was sacked. He has since featured for Malaga, Norkopping, Rubin Kazan and Djurgardens.
The wide man, who has put pen to paper on a five year contract, believes all of those experiences have made him a stronger person as well as a better player and will stand him in good stead at Celtic.
“I moved out when I was 18,” he said. “I left my family and friends. Since then, I have been away from home. I was in Russia when the war started. It was not easy. When I was in Malaga I never played and the coach never spoke to me. That was hard as well.
“When I was in Sweden this summer I was training by myself. When I was training by myself I was doing some running, some gym work. I was trying to do the best I could when I was on my own. But now I am with the squad. All that made me who I am. I feel older than 23 in my head.”
Haksabanovic encountered a few familiar faces on his first day of training at Celtic – goalkeeper Joe Hart, centre half Carl Starfelt and striker Albian Ajeti – and anticipates that he will be able to settle in to his new surroundings quickly.
“I played a season with Joe at West Ham,” he said. “I was on loan when Albian was there but I met him. I also know Carl from Russia.
“Carl was in touch when he heard the rumours about me joining. I didn’t want to tell him too much as I wanted it to be low key. But he told me this club is incredible to play for, living here in Glasgow and the way people treat you.
“It’s easier when you have people you know. I talk to everyone. I’ve been around so I’ve learned a lot. I’m a pretty chilled out guy though and I don’t find it hard to make new friends.”
